A Bleach Beach Trip
by Darth Hawk 32
Summary: Ichigo and his friends go to the Beach for summer break. For your viewing pleasure, Teenagers with Sun baked hormones...that just sounds wrong. Eh, I'll keep it up, good for a laugh. Seriously though, it's a good story. Read it.
1. Shopping

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

A Bleach Beach Trip

Chapter 1

Orihime Inoue, and her friend Tatsuki Arisawa were browsing around the bathing suit section of one of the clothing outlets in the local mall. They had spent the past few hours browsing through the displays of various shops, looking for something new to wear to the beach.

Just a few day prior, at the start of summer vacation, a co-ed trip to the beach had been suggested, and this time it had been accepted. This was much to the satisfaction of Keigo, who had been looking forward to a trip to the beach for a very long time. For most of the group it was finally a chance to relax and do something normal, put fighting Hollows and traveling to different worlds to save friends aside for a while and just be normal kids for once.

While browsing the store's selection Orihime found her attention attracted to a particular dark pink, one-piece swimsuit that was perfect. She held it up for a better look, certain that this was the right one.

"How about this one, Tatsuki-chan?" She asked, turning to her shorthaired friend.

Tatsuki looked up from the swimsuit she had been considering, a simple two-piece suit. She showed no reaction, other than her left eyebrow rising. "Well…it's nice…" she started to say, "But I think I have something that might look better on you."

She flicked through a few of the swimsuit she had been looking at, and pulled one out, holding it up with an air of triumph.

Orihime blushed and tried to hide her lower face behind the swimsuit she was holding. "Eeep." Was all she could say.

Tatsuki grinned, and looked at the yellow bikini, with its green three-leaf clover on the left chest. "Yup," she said, satisfied, "This will work nicely."

Orihime regained some of her composure, at least enough to try to make a reply. She shook her head as if to clear it. "I can't wear…that…it's too…not enough…" The rest of her protests were lost to.

"Calm down," Tatsuki said, "And trust me. This is just what you need. He won't be able to keep his eyes off you if you're wearing this." Tatsuki's grin spoke volumes.

Orihime blushed even harder, her eyes fixed on the ground. She lifted her gaze to look at the bikini and quickly lowered her eyes again, wishing she could just disappear. She was so embarrassed that her mind wasn't even able to go down any of it's bizarre paths; all she could think about was how embarrassed she would be if she were to wear that bikini. More fabric was used to make a handkerchief than was used on this bikini. It wasn't even the bikini itself that had her flustered; it was more for the reason that Tatsuki wanted her to buy it. There was no way she could wear anything like that in front of _him_, she'd be much too self-conscious.

Tatsuki, afraid that her friend would pass out, decided to compromise. "Tell you what, how about we buy both suits for you. I'll chip in for the bikini, and you can decide if you want to wear it later."

Slightly relieved, Orihime agreed. But she couldn't keep her mind off of wondering what his reaction to the bikini would be. She followed Tatsuki, who had picked up the swimsuit she'd chosen for herself earlier, to the register.

As they walked out of the store, having paid for the swimsuits, Tatsuki continued to tease her friend with advice on how to best use her new purchase on a certain orange-haired someone.

* * *

At that very moment Ichigo Kurosaki was doing something he hadn't been able to do in a long time, relax. His nasal passages also happened to be very clear. Living in a clinic did have it's benefits, despite the obvious disadvantage that came in the form of Isshin Kurosaki and his flying kick, among other things.

On the ground next to his bed was a bag, packed for a summer trip, and Rukia Kuchiki, busy reading a manga she had convince Ichigo to buy for her. She paused in her reading and glanced in to the bag next to her.

"Ichigo," a grunt was all the reply she received. "Are you sure you aren't forgetting anything? It doesn't look like you have enough packed for a ten day trip."

Ichigo replied without moving. "I already checked. I'm not missing anything."

"But you've only got two shirts, and six pairs of shorts."

"We're going to the Beach. I'll be wearing the shorts more often than the shirts, so I don't need to worry about changing shirts as often." He scratched his nose. "Besides, I like to pack light. I don't like having to carry too much crap around."

"So you'll be wearing nothing but those shorts most of the time?" Rukia inquired, almost innocently. It didn't matter though, Ichigo wasn't paying much attention.

"Pretty much."

Rukia's mind wandered to sunny coasts, warm water, and athletic guys wearing nothing but shorts all day. She shook her head as somehow tattoos managed to crawl their way into her daydream. She rolled onto her side so that her "roommate" couldn't see her red face.

A trip to the beach did sound like fun. It was too bad that she had to report back to Soul Society for the next few weeks. Maybe…

* * *

"Orihime, don't you think you might have packed a little much for just ten days?" Tatsuki asked her friend, as she stood next to a pile of what could be anywhere from ten to twenty bags. If nothing else, they looked heavy enough for more than ten bags.

"Well, I had everything packed into just one bag, but then I thought, what if it starts raining and floods the Cabin, and we had no way to escape? So I packed rain gear for everyone and an inflatable raft so we could get away. Then I thought 'What if there's a change in Climate and it snows?' So I packed extra blankets, winter clothes, a space heater, and a sled so we could still go out and play. Then I thought, 'What if they don't have Bean Paste?' So I had to pack a suitcase of that just in case. Then I thought 'What if the power goes out?'…"

"Okay, okay, I think I understand," Tatsuki interrupted her spacey friend. "But there's no way you can carry all of this by yourself." She said, as the train pulled into the station. She turned around. "Oi, Ichigo, come help us with these bags."

Ichigo turned from where he was standing––trying to ignore his family, who had come to see him off––with his single, half-full duffle bag, and stared at the mountain of luggage. "Why are you asking me? If you couldn't carry them by yourself, why did you pack so many bags?"

"They're not mine," Tatsuki replied. "They're Orihime's."

Ichigo stared for just a moment. "Oh," he finally said, and went over to grab two of the bags.

Orihime blushed, and kept her gaze focused on the ground, mortified that because of her typical flakiness Kurosaki-kun had to carry all those bags. "You…you don't have to, if you don't want to," she stuttered, "I'm sure that I can manage them by myself."

"Nah, it's all right," he said, shouldering the bags as he turned, missing Orihime's deepening blush. "Hey, Chad, help me with the rest of these bags."

Chad came over and picked up five of the bags on his own. "WAIT, I'll help," Keigo exclaimed, but after trying to lift just one of the deceptively heavy bags he gave up. "I don't know how you do it," he told Chad.

The doors opened, and the group started to pour into the empty compartments. Keigo felt his shame deepen at not being able to help Orihime with her bags when he saw Tatsuki, Ishida, and even Orihime herself pick up the remaining bags.

Rukia stood on the platform, wishing everyone fun on their trip. "Are you sure you can't come with us, Kuchiki-san?"

"Oh yes, and even if I could, it'd be too late now, I haven't anything packed."

"You could borrow one of my swimsuits," Orihime offered.

Rukia blinked a few times while she tried to think of a reply for Orihime's generous, yet naïve offer. Tatsuki just stood behind her friend, shaking her head.

"Thank you very much, but I'm going to be busy for the next few weeks. So I really couldn't." Rukia answered.

"Are you sure? I packed one of my bathing suits from when I was twelve, in case somebody needed it."

Tatsuki tried to suppress a snicker, while Rukia's eye twitched; she had to remind herself that it was just a slip of the tongue; Orihime didn't actually mean anything by it.

"Yeah, why don't you come, Rukia?" Ichigo remarked, passing behind Orihime, "It'd be a perfect fit for you."

"SHUT UP," Rukia yelled, throwing her shoe at Ichigo. She quickly regained her composure, and regained her shoe from Orihime, who had caught it after it had bounced off Ichigo's face.

"Anou, Kuchiki-san," Orihime started, her face downcast because of her slipup, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"It's all right, I'm not angry," Rukia said. Ichigo scoffed, his hand covering his nose as he tried to stop the blood; Rukia glared at him, but said nothing.

Orihime just nodded, and turned to get on the train. She turned to look back at Rukia, her demeanor a little more upbeat. "Well, have fun anyway, we'll see you when we get back." Orihime followed Tatsuki onto the train, just as the doors slid shut. The two compartments their group shared were filled with the noise of excited teenagers on their way to an exciting new destination. Most of the noise, however, belonged to Keigo. Pretty much everyone else was just sitting back and taking it easy.

Tatsuki leaned close to Orihime, "Do you have it?" She whispered.

Orihime's blush, and the way she focused on her thumbs, was answer enough for Tatsuki.

Ichigo, who was sitting next to the window across from them, looked confused at the expressions of the girls sitting across from him. He shrugged to himself and turned to look out the window, only turning his attention away long enough to clobber Keigo who had jumped on him for some reason or another.

Orihime ignored the noise from her friends, her mind lost in her own thoughts.

_I guess I could try it on for a day…_She reasoned with herself. _What am I thinking? I'd be too embarrassed to wear that thing. But, Tatsuki-chan, said it looked really good on me. But…I can't…it's just… Oh, I wonder what Kurosaki-kun would think of it?_

**End Chapter 1**

Author's Notes: This is the first fanfiction I've written in a while, and the first story that I've set out intending to actually finish. I'd like to know what everyone thinks, so please review, and let me know what to improve in my writing. Feel free to review and tell me what you liked too; I'm not too picky.

I hope you like it. I feel pretty good about it myself. Which is funny, since I started off thinking the idea was crap, and the first draft was crap, but it is turning out to be pretty decent. I guess that's what the writing process is all about. 'Crap. Crap. More crap. Fire starter. Send to an editor, maybe they'll have pity on me and give me a food stamp or something. Hey, I think it actually looks like a story now. Crap. Double Crap. Huh? It's published?"

Or something like that.

I think I'll stop here, before the Author's Notes get to be longer than the story.


	2. A Compromising Situation

A Bleach Beach Trip

A Bleach Beach Trip

Chapter 2

Ichigo breathed deeply of the ocean air as their group exited the train, shifting the weight of the extra bags he was carrying. A three hour-long train ride wasn't his idea of a good start to a summer vacation. Especially with his naps continually being interrupted by Keigo. Ichigo never found out what he wanted, pound first ask questions later. At least Keigo had been in the other compartment. Uryu and Chad had been the only other ones in Ichigo's compartment, besides Tatsuki and Orihime. The two guys never said a word, and the girls were content to just talk between themselves. It had been the first time since Ichigo had gained his Shinigami powers that he had actually had a relatively peaceful moment. 

When she wasn't talking to Tatsuki, Orihime had been looking out the window at the speeding scenery. Though her eyes would invariably wander towards Kurosaki-kun's sleeping face. She smiled to herself at how sleep loosened the ever-present scowl on his face. Even though she enjoyed looking at his face even when he was scowling––sometimes she enjoyed it especially when he was scowling––she couldn't help but think that he looked so much more pleasant when his face was relaxed. Over the past few months she had been able to see his face with many different expressions than his usual scowl. Whether it was determination while facing an enemy, or fear for his friends, and those few, brief, moments when his eyes would soften for just a moment and she would be able to catch a glimpse of the feelings behind those eyes. Though it was a more than minor source of annoyance for her that she couldn't quite figure out what those feelings were exactly.

She'd once told Kurosaki-kun that Ishida-kun would have more friends if he were a little more pleasant when he spoke to people. Orihime was certain that people would also find it easier to approach Kurosaki-kun if he wasn't frowning all the time. But if he didn't frown he wouldn't be Kurosaki-kun anymore, and would instead be a clone from another dimension, who was trying to take over his life, but he would be foiled by Orihime, and then Kurosaki-kun would confess his undying love for her, and they would live happily ever after…

Tatsuki stared at her friend, when the later giggled very loudly, not taking notice of their public surroundings. Though most of the people in the immediate vicinity were their friends who, knowing Orihime, didn't think much of it. She decided not to ask.

"Isn't your Cousin supposed to pick us up from here?" Keigo asked Mizuiro after they had been waiting at the train station for a while.

"He should be," Mizuiro replied, pulling a cell phone out of his pocket. "I'll try calling his cell phone." He dialed the number, but hung up when he heard a car honking. "Never mind, there he is."

They were greeted by a young man in his early twenties, who looked like a taller, slightly older version of Mizuiro. Mahana whistled under her breath. "Not bad," she commented.

Tatsuki shrugged. "I've seen better."

"Hey, sorry I'm late. I was talking to this girl and kind of lost track of time."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Yep, he's Mizuiro's cousin." Tatsuki snickered, Orihime giggled to herself, and even Uryu cracked a smile, fleeting though it was. Chad's face remained as impassive as always.

Mizuiro's cousin helped everyone pile into the van, noticing Orihime in the progress. "Hi," he started, "I'm…"

Tatsuki nudged Orihime into the van. "Don't bother, she's taken." Mizuiro's cousin blinked for a moment, and then just shrugged. Ichigo, having heard the comment, raised an eyebrow, before returning to his usual scowl.

* * *

The drive to the cabin had been uneventful, other than a few attempts at flirting by Mizuiro's cousin, quickly shot down by Tatsuki. The girls were unpacking their luggage in their room. Most of Orihime's luggage had to be left in a corner in the main room. She was unpacking the bag that had her clothes in it, when she came across _it_. She looked at the bikini for just a moment, which was long enough for Tatsuki to sneak behind her. 

"You going to put it on?" Tatsuki asked her friend.

Orihime squealed and stuffed the bikini into the drawer she was loading full of her clothes. "O-of course not. I was just…"

The other girls noticed Tatsuki and Orihime talking. Mahana came over and looked curiously into the drawer. "What are you two talking about?"

"Orihime bought a new bikini, but now she's too chicken to try it on."

Orihime pouted. "That's not true Tatsuki-chan. I was just…"

"Oh wow," Mahana said as she pulled the bikini out of the drawer. "This is gorgeous. Why wouldn't you want to wear it? It looks great. Come on, let's see what it looks like on you."

"Actually I…" Orihime tried to refuse, but the combined pressure from both Tatsuki and Mahana made her give in. Michiro wasn't saying anything, but she was paying close attention to what was happening. Ryo was also paying attention, though she was being careful not to let it show.

As she started putting on the bikini, Orihime decided that it really wasn't such a big deal to be trying it on if it was just her and the girls. Though she would remain adamant that she would not wear it outside this room.

Tatsuki nodded appreciatively when Orihime was done putting on the bikini. "Wow, it looks better than I thought it would."

Mahana nodded. "You've got great taste Tatsuki, it really looks good on her." She turned to Orihime. "You've got to wear that Orihime, it would be a crime against nature if you didn't."

Orihime blushed at the compliments. "Well…I…"

"I wish I had a figure like that," Michiro commented.

"It really wouldn't be all that great." Ryo said. "You'd only end up attracting all the wrong attention, and none that you do want."

Orihime sighed, thinking to herself about just how true that statement was.

"I'd be satisfied with any attention right now." Michiro pouted.

"You can go ahead and change Orihime," Tatsuki said, deciding to let her friend off the hook. "We'll save this bombshell for the right time." Tatsuki's grin was meant to reassure Orihime, but that only lasted two seconds before it became mischievous.

Orihime sighed to herself as she undid the straps of the bikini. The way things were going it would only be a matter of time before they had that bikini on her again. The part that scared her was that she found herself minding it less and less. Maybe this was what she needed to help with her boy troubles. Just as she undid the last strap and dropped the bikini on the bed, she heard the sound of the door opening.

* * *

AN: Sorry it took me so long to update. I got caught up with school work and the editing process dragged on a little. If it takes some time for my fics to update that's because I refuse to post an unfinished chapter just because I've finished writing the first draft. I've done that with some previous stories, and they've sucked. On another note, it may be a little bit before I get the next chapter up. Though it might not take me as long as I think, since I've divided up the second chapter into about three or four individual chapters. Heck this one was even meant to be longer, but I decided this was the best place to end for now. Suffer knowing that I hold the answer to who is at the door, and it is only through my whim that you will receive that answer. That and I figured I should at least get a chapter posted before I go into finals. So the next one might be kind of short, however there is a chance that it will be the longest yet if I go through with my original plan. Don't worry though, this story will be finished, unlike some of my other stories. I do plan on either finishing some of those, or rewriting and finishing them. So if any of you like some of my unfinished chapter stories then look forward to those. The ones I plan on working on are, "A Christmas Carol ½" (which will be rewritten and finished) and "Be Home for Christmas…Or else!" Look for these in the Ranma ½ section come Christmas.

See you next chapter.


	3. At the Festival

A Bleach Beach Trip

Disclaimer: I own Bleach, I use it on my laundry every week. Oh, we're talking about the Anime/Manga? Never mind then. I do not own Bleach, even though I do have a bottle of it in my laundry room.

A/N: I know, I know, this is way overdue. I apologize for that. It will be a while before I am able to get settled down and in front of a computer, but I promise that I'll get the next chapter up as soon as possible. I'm hoping it won't take longer than two weeks. If I get lucky I'll be done sooner. I have a plan on where this is going, and I think you will all like it. So far I'm satisfied with how this is turning out, considering I wasn't very enthusiastic about the idea when I started this. Hope you all enjoy, this one is extra long just for you. I hope the longer chapter makes up for the lack of update.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

The guys had finished unpacking, which in most cases just involved tossing their bags on a bed. With nothing better to do Ichigo was getting a head start on the relaxing that he came to do. He didn't know what any of the others were doing and he really didn't care. Keigo was being uncharacteristically quiet, and he wasn't going to let the opportunity go to waste. He didn't expect that Keigo would stay quiet for much of the trip, so he was going to enjoy it when he could.

"Hey, guys?"

So it was true. All good things do come to an end.

"What, is it?" Mizuiro answered when no one else did. Even though the moment of peace was over, there was no way that Ichigo was going to contribute.

"So what are we going to do now?" In true Keigo fashion, he demonstrated that he was unable to remain still or silent for longer than a few minutes. Ichigo wondered if he had an undiscovered strain of ADHD.

Mizuiro shrugged. "I kind of figured we would probably just take it easy tonight and get settled in."

Ichigo indulged in a rare inner smile. Mizuiro had just skyrocketed in his estimation.

"There's a festival later this evening, if you want something to do." Mizuiro's cousin on the other hand would have a rough time going anywhere but down in Ichigo's opinion of him. Walking into the room, he handed his cousin a set of keys. "Here are the keys to the place; if any of you need anything just give me a call. Talk to you later." And with that he left.

"PERFECT!" Keigo declared.

"A festival does sound like fun," said Mizuiro.

"I suppose…" Said Uryu.

"Mmmh," said Chad.

"Whatever," said Ichigo.

"Well, now that that's settled, I think I'll go see what the girls think." Mizuiro got up to leave the room, but Keigo beat him to it.

"Don't worry about it, I'll go tell them." And with that he left the room.

Barely a moment later they heard the sound of a door opening, followed by screaming and the sound of heavy objects making contact with the wall, floor and, more often than not, Keigo. Then there was silence.

Five minutes later a bruised and beaten Keigo dragged himself back into the room.

"Hey, I forgot to…What happened to him?" Mizuiro's cousin said, coming through the front door.

"B-boobies…so big…" And Keigo collapsed for good.

"Something that he probably deserved," said Ichigo.

"Harsh."

* * *

Orihime was trembling in the middle of the room, her arms clutched protectively around her chest. She looked like she was about to cry.

Tatsuki was standing between her best friend and the door, a stool clutched in her shaking hands. She was breathing heavily, her eyes focused and deadly, though the threat was no longer present. "That pervert," she snarled. "Hasn't he ever heard of knocking?" Worried she turned to her friend. "Orihime?"

As fast as she could, which turned out to be pretty fast, Orihime changed out of the remainder of the bikini into her normal clothes. Ripping open the drawer, she stuffed the Bikini in as deep as she could. "I am not wearing this thing." She said, with more heat than was usual for her.

Tatsuki decided to let it go. For now.

"It looked like he wanted to ask us something," said Ryo. "We should probably see what the guys want."

The girls found the guys lounging around the front room, with the exception of Keigo who was more collapsed than lounging. As if by an instinctive sense of survival Keigo woke up the moment Tatsuki entered the room. He scrambled to put several articles of furniture between him and the still angry girl, even though it would obviously do him no good. Tatsuki glared at him, but otherwise let it go.

"So what's up?" Mahana asked the guys.

"There's a festival later this evening. We were thinking of going." Mizuiro said, not looking up from his book.

"Sounds good," said Tatsuki, still glaring at Keigo, and walked out onto the balcony. Orihime followed her.

The cabin had a view of the ocean. The setting sun painted the waves a dreamy color of orange. It was a sight that was best described as perfect.

"The water looks so beautiful with the sun reflecting off it like that." Orihime commented dreamily, the shock of her nigh exposure beginning to wear off. "It's almost as if…"

"You're right, it sure is." Tatsuki cut that thought off before it could go anywhere.

* * *

Most of the people at the festival looked like they were tourists. And most of those were High School and College aged kids. The group had split up into smaller groups, and Ichigo had found himself with Uryu and Chad. None of them had anything to say, and so they didn't say anything.

There really wasn't much that attracted their attention, though they did loose Chad at a throwing stand that gave away plushies as a prize for knocking down the cans. Not really interested in plushies, and realizing that Chad wasn't going anywhere until he had cleaned out the store, Ichigo and Uryu decided to wander some more. After a few minutes of finding nothing interesting they came across Orihime and Tatsuki at a Goldfish Scooping stall. Tatsuki was watching her friend, whose whole attention was focused on her task of trying to catch the elusive goldfish.

"Hey," Ichigo said in way of greeting.

"Hey," Tatsuki glanced away from her friend for a moment.

Orihime broke another net. "Ittai! Another net please."

"What try is this?" Ichigo asked Tatsuki.

"I dunno. I lost count after eight."

As they continued to watch Orihime, Tatsuki began to formulate a plan in her mind.

"Why don't you give it a shot, Ichigo?" Tatsuki suggested.

Ichigo grunted and bent down, grabbing one of the nets. Orihime scooted over to give him some space, but remained crouched down.

Tatsuki turned to Ishida, and lowered her voice slightly. "Could you come with me to look at that stall over there, Ishida-kun?" Neither Ichigo nor Orihime seemed to notice the other two leaving.

After a while Ichigo asked, "What were you going to do with the fish once you caught one anyway?"

Orihime shrugged. "I don't know. I've never been able to catch one in these games, and I wanted to finally catch one."

Ichigo wasn't having any luck catching the fish either. Frustrated, he stood up. "Ah, let's go find something else. C'mon Ishida." No answer. It was then that Ichigo and Orihime noticed that the other two were gone.

"Huh? Where'd they go?" Ichigo looked around, confused.

Orihime was just as confused. Suddenly, her woman's intuition kicked in again for the second time in her life. "Ah! Kurosaki-kun, you don't suppose that they left so they could be alone together?"

"What? Ishida and Tatsuki?" He considered this. "Nah! That couldn't be it. He really isn't her type. And I have no idea what kind of girls Ishida likes."

"But then where did they go? And why together? Without telling us?"

"I dunno. Let's see if we can find them." Ichigo turned to leave, Orihime following him.

It was then that she realized that she was alone with Kurosaki-kun, at a festival. She also realized that she was hungry. She would have ignored her hunger, but her stomach made a very vocal argument. Orihime tried to hide her blush and her embarrassment, stealing a glance at Ichigo to see if he had noticed.

He had, but he tried to pretend he hadn't. He knew how easily embarrassed Orihime could get at times, and didn't want to make the situation any more awkward than it had to be. He noticed a nearby takoyaki stand, and decided to be tactful.

"You know," he said, scratching the back of his head. "I'm kind of hungry. Do you mind if we grab some takoyaki from that stand over there?"

Orihime mutely nodded her approval, and followed him to the stand. Had she not been walking a little behind him, he would have noticed the faint blush that colored Orihime's cheeks. But he still wouldn't have been able to tell what she was thinking.

_Kurosaki-kun is so kind_.

It was a small, trivial moment. But it was during those small, trivial moments that she found herself falling more in love with him.

Ichigo ordered two servings of takoyaki, and paid for them. He handed the second one to Orihime. "Here."

"Ah, Kurosaki-kun, you didn't have to pay for me!" Orihime protested as she accepted her snack.

"Don't worry about it. I've got money to spend, so I might as well spend it on my friends."

Orihime smiled. "Okay, but you have to let me buy the next treat, alright?"

Ichigo nodded, with a very, very faint smile. "Sounds fair to me." And they kept walking.

_He smiled!…Well, he sort of did. A little._

But still, it was progress compared to when she had first met him. They continued to walk in silence.

"So, Kurosaki-kun," she decided to start a conversation. "What is it that you want to do when you're older?"

Ichigo thought for a moment. "Well, I'm not really sure. I've considered going into medicine, but I've never really been interested enough."

"I think you'd make a really good doctor, Kurosaki-kun. And when people die you could send them to Soul Society right away."

Ichigo chuckled at the thought. "It would be convenient. How about you? What is it that you want to do after school?"

Orihime smiled. "I haven't been able to decide. There's so many things that I would like to do. I would like to own a bakery, or maybe work at a kindergarten."

"Huh. Sounds like something you'd be good at."

"Thank you."

Ichigo frowned to himself, as he realized that he really didn't know much about this girl that was one of his closest friends. "You know," he said. "This is the most we've ever talked together, isn't it?"

Orihime considered this for a moment, and then smiled. "You're right, it is."

* * *

Chad had finished his quest for all things cute. He had failed to clean out the booth, due to lack of funding. Next time he would have to bring more money. As he walked around looking for his friends he was well aware of the stares that he was getting. After all it wasn't often that people saw a giant walking around with a bunch of plushies in his arms.

He spotted Ichigo, and what appeared to be Orihime walking together. He wondered what the two of them were doing together, and was about to join them, when he heard a noise directed at him.

"Psssst! Sado, over here."

He turned to find Tatsuki and Uryu hiding next to a stall. Uryu looked decidedly uncomfortable, and Chad noticed that Tatsuki's attention was focused on Ichigo and Orihime.

"What are you doing?" He asked them.

"We're watching Orihime and Ichigo," said Tatsuki.

"You're stalking them?"

"No, we're just following and observing."

"Uh, Arisawa-san, I think that's what stalking is." Interjected Uryu.

"Quiet you!"

* * *

So far they hadn't been able to find any of their friends. If Ichigo didn't know any better he'd almost say that they were hiding from them. But that was just ridiculous. They came across the throwing stand that they'd left Chad at. He was no longer there, and Ichigo vaguely noticed that they still had some plushies left. Ichigo would have kept walking, but Orihime grabbed his arm and dragged him to the stand.

"Kurosaki-kun, can we try this game?" She asked, with pleading eyes. Ichigo had no choice but to give in.

He started pulling out his wallet, but Orihime stopped him. "Remember, I said I'd pay next time."

Ichigo shrugged and put his wallet back. Orihime bought ten balls, five for her, and five for him. She did better than she did at the Fish Scooping game, but she never quite managed to knock the entire stack of cans down. Ichigo on the other hand was able to knock down a whole pyramid with each ball. As his prize the stall owner reached up and handed Ichigo a strawberry shaped plushy.

"Here you go," said the stall owner. "One of our last prizes. This big guy was here earlier, won almost all my prizes. Put a hole through the back of my stand." He pointed at a hole in the back wall.

"Ah, Kurosaki-kun, you're so lucky to win that."

Ichigo was frowning at the plushy, his expression the exact opposite of the strawberry's smile. He looked up and offered it to Orihime. "Here, you can have it if you want."

Orihime backed away slightly. "No, I couldn't, you won it."

"And now I'm giving it to you. It was your money anyway."

Finally Orihime accepted the gift, and held it, smiling. Ichigo looked at her expression and shrugged. _Huh? Guess she likes Strawberries._

Ichigo noticed a faint sound that was steadily growing louder. A very familiar sound. One that he never seemed to be able to get away from. He lifted his fist to about face level, and felt the slight impact as Keigo ran into it.

"IIIIIICCCCHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGOOOOOOOO…WHAM!"

"Hey Keigo."

Keigo stormed up from his prostrate position. "WHY!? WHY DO YOU INFLICT SUCH ABUSE ON ME? ONE OF YOURE CLOSEST FRIENDS!"

"I'm telling you," said Mizuiro, following a little further behind the other boy. "It's a conditioned reflex. He does it so often that he doesn't even think about it anymore."

"Whatever," said Ichigo.

Mizuiro notices Orihime standing next to Ichigo. "Ah, Inoue-san!" Keigo hones in on her almost instantly.

"WHAT! What are Ichigo and Inoue-san doing together? What is this unusual development?" WHAM!

Ichigo cracked his knuckles. "That one wasn't a conditioned reflex."

"By the way, where are Uryu, Chad, and Arisawa-san?" Mizuiro asked.

"We left Chad at a throwing stand, and Tatsuki and Uryu disappeared somewhere together."

Mizuiro considered this. "Really? They left together? That's strange."

Ichigo shrugged. "Whatever. I don't really care either way."

"Hey what's up guys?" Tatsuki, along with Uryu and Chad, joined the rest of the group.

"Where've you guys been?" Ichigo asked them.

"I saw a stall I wanted to look at, and asked Ishida to come with me. We ran into Sado a little bit later."

Orihime nudged up next to Tatsuki, and whispered. "Tatsuki-chan! I never knew!"

"Never knew what?" Tatsuki whispered back.

"That you and Ishida-kun were…You know…"

"What are you talking about? I just took him with me so that you and Ichigo could be alone during the festival. You're welcome, by the way."

Orihime was taken aback. "You what…?"

Tatsuki winked.

The other three girls had found the rest of the group. "We're pretty much done looking around," said Mahana. "How about everyone else?"

"I think we're all pretty much done. We can head back to the cabin." Mizuiro started leading the way back.

Mahana noticed Orihime holding the Strawberry plushy and Chad with his armful of plushies. "What happened?" She asked Orihime. "He beat you to all the other ones?"

Orihime smiled. "No," she said. "I like this one." She considered the plushy she was holding. There was just one thing that she needed to change.

* * *

Later that evening Tatsuki was reading a martial arts magazine on her bed, when she saw Orihime come into the room with the strawberry plushy she'd had at the festival in one hand and a sewing kit in the other hand.

"Where'd you get that?" Tatsuki asked her friend.

"Kurosaki-kun won it for me at the festival. I just need to make a small adjustment."

"Okay." Tatsuki turned back to her magazine.

A few minutes later Orihime had finished, and she held up her handiwork to admire it. She smiled at a job well done. Tatsuki glanced over from her bed to look at the strawberry. Orihime had redone the stitching on the mouth and eyebrows so that the strawberry was frowning. Chuckling to herself Tatsuki turned back to her magazine. After a moment Orihime put the sewing kit away, and climbed into bed, turning off the light on her night stand. She fell asleep, holding her new plushy.


	4. First Day at the Beach

A Bleach Beach Trip

Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. One day I'll own my own series, just you watch.**

* * *

Without warning, and without really waking up, Ichigo threw his covers into the air, cutting off visibility, and rolled off the side of his bed. He woke up when he hit the ground, and anyone watching would have laughed at his confused expression as his head poked up beside his bed, looking around as if he was trying to figure out what had happened.

"Figures," he muttered. "My reflexes finally get used to Goat Face's attacks, and he's not even here."

He climbed back into bed and pulled his covers off the ground back onto himself. As much as he tried there was too much adrenaline pumping in his system for him to fall back asleep. He checked his watch that was lying on the nightstand next to him. _7:30_. _Guess I might as well get up. _

None of the other guys looked like they were getting up anytime soon. Judging by Keigo's anything-but-soft snores it was going to be longer for some than for others. Might as well get some breakfast.

All he could find in the fridge was; Cabbage, Squid, Chocolate Sauce and Red Bean Paste––lots of Red Bean Paste. With nothing edible in the fridge Ichigo decided to go and see if he could find something at a store. It was too early for vacationing high school students to be awake, but it wasn't too early for shops to be opening.

* * *

No one will ever really know what it is that Inoue Orihime dreams about at night. Fortunately, or unfortunately, it all depends on your point of view, she talks in her sleep, and it is possible to gather a vague idea about what it is she is dreaming about. It's usually the same thing every time anyway.

"Ah, Kurosaki-kun, don't, that tickles." Orihime murmured, rolling around in her blankets. "I told you I'm ticklish on my AAAAHHH."

Almost as suddenly as Ichigo had woken, Orihime sat straight up, throwing her covers off of herself. She was slightly disappointed when she realized she had been dreaming. Though a larger part of herself was relieved, she really was ticklish there.

Deciding to fix herself some breakfast she climbed out of bed and walked into the kitchen to find something to eat. Opening the fridge she found some Cabagge, Squid, Chocolate Sauce and Red Bean Paste––not nearly enough Red Bean Paste. Perfect.

Gathering her ingredients Orihime set about to prepare some breakfast. She was in luck, it looked like there would be enough to share with everyone.

It was at then that Ichigo came back, carrying a bag full of doughnuts. At first he'd only planned on getting some for himself, but in the end decided he might as well get some for everyone else.

Orihime noticed him coming in and smiled brightly. "Good morning, Kurosaki-kun."

Ichigo was certain that he'd never figure out how she could be so cheerful, even in the morning. "Good morning, Inoue." He noticed the food Orihime had laid out on the counter, and closer inspection revealed that, no, she had not found anything that he had missed earlier. "Ah, what are you making, Inoue?"

Orihime smiled again. "Fried cabbage and squid in chocolate and red bean paste sauce." She got a pan out of one of the cupboards. A very big pan. "I'm making breakfast for everyone."

Ah.

Ichigo could do nothing other than stare. When he snapped out of it he held up the bag of doughnuts. "Actually I bought doughnuts for everyone. So why not save what you're making for later?"

Orihime looked just a little disappointed, but then she smiled and put the other food away. "Of course, that sounds great." She took one out of the bag Ichigo was holding open. "Back home I always have my doughnuts with ice cream, and soy sauce."

Ichigo began to mentally make plans to keep Orihime out of the kitchen in the most polite way possible.

As they were eating their doughnuts the others began to wake up. Everyone appreciated the doughnuts, except for Keigo. But that probably had more to do with the fact that Ichigo decided to mess with his friend a little.

"Sweet, doughnuts," Keigo said, reaching for the bag.

"Get your own," Ichigo said, pulling the bag out of Keigo's reach. "The place is just down the street."

"Ah, Ichigo, you're so mean. You let everyone else have doughnuts, but you won't let me, your bosom friend partake of the sweet chewiness of the doughnuts?"

"It's because you keep saying stuff like that."

"But…"

At that point Tatsuki came into the room. "Sweet, doughnuts," she said reaching into the bag. Keigo, with a scandalized gasp, went to sulk in the corner. "What's up with him?"

Ichigo shrugged.

"Kurosaki-kun, don't be mean."

Ichigo grinned and tossed a doughnut at Keigo, who caught it. "Ah sweet wonderful savor that is doughnuts, how I shall cherish thee…"

"Don't make me take that away from you," Ichigo threatened.

With a subdued look Keigo stuffed the rest of the doughnut in his mouth, and looked for an opportunity to sneak another.

"So what's up for today?" Tatsuki asked no one in specific.

Shrugs from everyone else in the room were her only answer.

"It doesn't look like there is anything edible her," Uryu said from the fridge. Ichigo fought back a grin upon hearing Orihime's scandalized gasp. "Maybe we should go grocery shopping sometime later?"

"Thanks for volunteering," Tatsuki said, grabbing another doughnut. "I feel like having Teriyaki chicken tonight. So make sure you pick up stuff for that."

Uryu frowned, pushing his glasses up with his fingers, the light reflecting off the lenses hid his eyes from view "Very well," he said. "I will go. But I will need a list of what everyone wants, along with the money for it."

Orihime got up and found a pen and some paper, though she was the only one bothering to make a list. Once she was finished writing she handed Uryu her list.

"Inoue-san," Uryu said, after looking over the list. "You only wrote down pocky and wasabi."

"I like to dip the pocky into the wasabi." She said this as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Everyone, except for Tatsuki, stared at her; the later was just shaking her head. "What?" Orihime asked, looking around at everyone.

"Don't worry about it," Tatsuki told her confused friend. "You'll figure it out one of these days."

"But Rangiku-san agrees with me that it tastes good."

"Who's Rangiku-san?" Michiru asked.

"She was with those guys that showed up at school a few months ago." Ichigo answered.

"Oh, right."

"The similarities in taste might have something to do with a similarity in their metabolism." Ryo volunteered, peering up from her ever-present book.

Uryu frowned at the girl. "What does that have to do with…"

"Don't worry," Ryo replied. "Its kind of an inside joke." Michiru nodded, giggling softly.

* * *

It was later in the morning that Ichigo realized how fascinating setting up a beach umbrella could be. Or so one would think if they saw the intensity with which he focused his gaze on the pole he was driving into the sand. He even had a red face from the effort he was putting into it.

As most people know, sand isn't very hard, and hence it isn't very hard to stick a beach umbrella into it. Which means it really shouldn't take much effort to set up said umbrella, or very much concentration for that matter. Which suggests that there might be another reason for Ichigo focusing so much of his attention on such a simple task, as well as his red face.

The last time Ichigo had been at the beach had been with his family. That had been a few years ago by now. So Ichigo by any means wouldn't have ever considered himself much of a 'beach bum'. As it turned out he was quite ignorant of what exactly happened at a beach. Of course he was well aware of the basics, sun, sand, water and bikinis. The problem was that the later of that list hadn't quite registered in his mind until they were there. Relatively seen Ichigo was quite inexperienced when it came to the female body, most of his experience came from Yoruichi's games of 'Mess with Ichigo', or from Rangiku trying to sway his opinion.

The girls had worn T-shirts on the way to the beach. Which was why the moment they got to the beach, and he saw other women there wearing swimsuits ranging from relatively modest one piece suits to skimpy bikini's that would put most Idols to shame, was the moment that he realized this trip was going to be awkward for him.

He really should have figured that seeing his female classmates, who he saw on a regular basis, and never saw wearing anything less than their gym clothes, in swimsuits just might be something he wasn't necessarily prepared for. Ichigo was by no means a pervert, especially if compared to someone like Keigo­­––who was having a field day, by the way. But he was still a teenager, no matter how repressed his sex drive might be.

Which is what brings us to Ichigo's current study of the beach umbrella. He was hoping that nobody would notice his red face. At the very least he was thankful that only Tatsuki and Mahana were wearing bikinis. It didn't make it any easier, but the less he stressed his system with for now, the better. Orihime had been the last of the girls to take off the t-shirt she was wearing over her swimsuit, by which point Ichigo was already feeling flustered. For some reason he couldn't explain he'd found he was slightly disappointed when it turned out that she was wearing a one piece suit.

While he was training for Bankai, Yoruichi had accused him of being disappointed when she got into the hot springs as a cat instead of as a human. It had pissed him off that she kept messing with his mind like that. What pissed him off even more was that now she could have accuse him of the exact same thing, and it would be true. Recently he found himself growing more and more curious. When Matsumoto had tried to convince him to let her stay at his house by starting to strip, even though he had covered his face, he couldn't help but peek a little bit. He only prayed that he would never be as bad as Keigo. He'd kill himself, in his Shinigami form, if that ever happened.

Ichigo shuddered at the thought of ever being like Keigo, and plopped himself down on his towel, determined to take a nap, or something. Anything to get his mind back where it belonged.

Orihime and Tatsuki were building a sand castle, while a water fight had broken out between the others. Ichigo raised an eyebrow when he saw Chad throw Keigo further out into the water. He got some pretty good distance out of him too. When he later asked Chad about it, his answer was, "He asked for it." Ichigo, thinking it unusual of Chad to be annoyed enough by Keigo to do anything about it, further questioned Chad about it. To which Chad replied, "No, he really asked me to throw him out there. I think he hit the water a little hard though, he didn't ask me to do it again."

His gaze drifted back to Orihime and Tatsuki and their sand castle. Orihime was wearing a pink one piece swimsuit, which while not very revealing at all, was still the most revealing thing he had ever seen this girl that he'd gotten to know a little better over the past few months wear. He felt the blush coming back and shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking about one of his friends like that, especially not one that had done so much for him already.

Tatsuki, looking up from their sand castle, and noticed Ichigo's lingering gaze on her busty friend, a tinge of red on his cheeks. "Enjoying the view Ichigo?" She called to him. Ichigo jumped slightly and, after glaring at Tatsuki, looked away. Tatsuki smirked, and decided to tease him just a little more. "Orihime, could you go grab that bucket over by the towels?"

Orihime jumped up and ran to where Ichigo was laying. She was focused on looking for the bucket, so she didn't notice Ichigo's eyes follow her for a moment, or the blush that graced his face again when he looked away. Tatsuki noticed it though, she also saw how his eyes flicked back towards Orihime as she was running back with the bucket. As the forces that governed Orihime's life would have it, she tripped and landed face first in the sand. Ichigo started to get up, but settled back down as Tatsuki helped her friend up. The blush still on his face Ichigo turned around, and settled on his stomache, facing away from them. _Awww,_ Tatsuki thought, _He's shy._ Now the question was, whether it was just Orihime, or if it was other girls as well.

Mahana walked past them, her hair wet from playing in the water. "Man, the sun's really bright today." She said, rubbing her shoulders that were turning red. "I don't think I put enough sun screen on." She kept walking towards where they had left their bags and towels, where Ichigo was trying to nap. Suddenly Tatsuki had an idea about how to get some answers.

"Here, I'll help you put some more sun screen on if you help me." She stood up and followed the other girl to the shade, while Orihime kept working on the sand castle.

"Sounds good to me." Mahana said, as she dug through her bag, looking for the sunscreen. When she found it she turned to Tatsuki. "I'll do your back first."

Tatsuki laid down where she could get a good view of Ichigo's face. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be sleeping. "Here," she said. "Let me undo my top, it'll make it easier to spread." Ichigo's eye twitched slightly.

When Mahana had finished with Tatsuki's back she leaned back. "My turn now," the brunette said. Tatsuki sat up, pulling her top up and fastening the straps. Mahana laid down where Tatsuki had been laying.

"You can go ahead and undo your top too," said Tatsuki. Ichigo's eye twitched again, and his face started to turn red again. Tatsuki decided for one last push. "Orihime, your back is going to burn if you don't put some more sunscreen on. Come over here." Tatsuki had to force her face to stay straight as her friend ran over to join them. "Hey Ichigo?" She asked. Ichigo grunted, but kept his eyes closed. "Do you mind helping Orihime with the sunscreen?"

Ichigo's eyes flew open and he sat bolt upright. "What!?" He almost yelped, a look of panic entering his eyes. Mahana watched his reaction with mildly confused curiosity. Tatsuki on the other hand was grinning broadly.

"I'm busy right now, and you're not doing anything, so just help her out." By this point Orihime was blushing as profusely as Ichigo was.

"That's all right," she said. "I can take care of it myself, Kurosaki-kun doesn't have to bother himself. See?" Orihime took the bottle from Tatsuki, but she squeezed too hard, and a large spray hit Ichigo in the face. "Eeep. I'm sorry Kurosaki-kun."

"That's all right," he said, wiping some of it off his face. He looked at his hand for just a moment. "Might as well not waste it." If possible his blush would have colored the rest of the sunscreen on his face pink. "Turn around."

Awkward wouldn't really describe the moment. While he almost gingerly spread the sunscreen over Orihime's shoulder, avoiding the straps of her swimsuit, he was busy trying to figure out what was possessing him, while at the same time wondering why it bothered him. When he had finished there was an awkward pause. Finally Orihime simply said, "Thank you."

And that was it. Except that Ichigo did go into the water afterwards. The water was cold. It felt good.

* * *

As Tatsuki watched Ichigo walk down to the water she found herself mentally smirking to herself. _Well, well, looks like we're going to have some unexpected fun here._

She'd have to make a few arrangements first though.

* * *

It was decided that they would play a game of beach volleyball. Ichigo hadn't ever really played much, but he figured that knocking a ball over a net shouldn't be too hard. He was playing on the same team as Orihime, and was able to notice that she was really good. He'd heard from Tatsuki that Orihime liked to invent her own sports, but he'd never really thought much about it. She really was pretty good.

The reason that Ichigo was so busy noticing how well she played, was because he was doing his best not to notice other things. In fact he was so busy noticing how well she played, that he wasn't doing very well himself. Every once in a while he would be just a little too focused on Orihime's volleyball skills that he would miss the ball himself.

"Eyes on the ball Ichigo. Eyes on the ball," Tatsuki shouted from the other side of the net, a smirk on her face. Ichigo snarled to himself and ignored her.

After about an hour of playing Keigo ended up spiking Chad in the face, and everyone decided it was time to take a break. Chad wasn't hurt; they just wanted to take a break.

Ryo and Michiro hadn't been playing with the others, Ryo wanted to finish her book, and Michiru was taking a break from having been in the sun most of the day.

Kunieda Ryo liked to keep to herself, even when she was with her group of friends she would be reading, half listening to the conversation and only contributing when it was important, or if she was directly addressed. She wasn't the type for small talk, or flirting for that matter. She simply did not like saying things that did not need to be said. So it was with a degree of annoyance that she noticed the two guys that were headed in her direction.

They were good looking, she admitted to herself, but she really just didn't care. She was also getting a vibe, even from a distance, from the two guys that told her it really wouldn't be worth to listen to whatever they had to offer.

"Hey Babe. How about you put that book away and we can show you a real good time." Ryo frowned slightly as her assessment of the two boys was confirmed, but otherwise showed no reaction.

"No thank you. I'm fine here." She did not look up from her book. The two guys stared at her for just a moment, before the one who had not spoken recovered enough to speak again.

"Aww, come on, you can even bring your little sister if you want." Michiru, who at first had been looking interested at two guys coming up to talk to them, and then started to look nervous when she started noticing their questionable attitudes, was suddenly very offended.

Ryo's expression did not change. "I already told you that I'm not interested. And she's not my little sister."

"Come on Babe, we promise to treat you right." The first guy said.

"No."

"Listen, Babe, when we tell you to do something, then you're supposed to do it. That's how things work around here." The second guy made to grab her arm, but found his arm trapped in a vice-like grip.

"We're not from around here," a voice behind them said. "And I wouldn't want to be around here right now if I were you."

Standing behind them was Ichigo, looking as if his only wish was to have an excuse to inflict pain. Normally he would have pounded first and made a memo to ask questions later, but with the levels that his strength had reached, he no longer really thought it worth the effort to waste his time beating up punks. His killing intent was very low at that moment, but it was enough to send chills down the spine of the two guys. They decided that it was in their best interest to leave, and that Ryo wasn't worth it to them. Besides there was a hot orange haired girl just down the beach with a nice rack that would be a much better focus for their energies.

The second guy scoffed, and pulled his arm away from Ichigo. The two guys left and headed down the beach to where Orihime, Tatsuki and Mahana were playing in the water. Ichigo noticed the direction in which they were headed, and the only reason that he didn't do anything was because he knew it would be too much fun to watch.

"Thank you, Kurosaki," Ryo said, looking up from her book.

"Don't mention it," Ichigo said, picking up a towel and toweling his hair dry.

"They thought I…her little sister…they thought I was just a little girl." Michiru said this with a cute little pout on her face. Ichigo looked at her with a kind of detached curiosity. He found himself wanting to grin, but kept his face blank. He rarely smiled, and recently he'd found himself frowning less and less. He always had a straight face, but the frown was only there when there was a real reason for it.

"I wouldn't worry what guys like that think. It's only worth caring about what those that actually mean something to you think." Michiru looked up at Ichigo, noticing how his lips were almost forming a smile. She realized that this was the first time that she'd seen him where his expression didn't scare her. For reasons she couldn't understand she felt her face heating just a little as he walked over to watch Chad build his sand castle, which had begun to take on epic proportions.

Ryo looked over at her friends face, and how her gaze followed the orange hair boy. She sighed to herself and returned to her reading.

Down by the water Tatsuki was stomping back towards their towels with Orihime in tow, and Mahana following behind, while casting an almost regretful glance behind them. Behind them, lying in fetal positions where the water would brush against them when the waves came in, were the two guys who had apparently thought that the chick with the short black hair was a safer bet than the freak with the orange hair.

* * *

It was later in the evening and they had just finished their dinner. After all the dishes had been rinsed and put away, Tatsuki had declared that the girls were going to have a 'girls only party' in their room. And if they knew what was good for them, the guys would stay away. The meaningful glare she threw at Keigo said it all.

Once they were in the room, with the door closed, Mahana let out an appreciative whistle. "Wow, I've never seen so much eye candy in my life. Was it just me or did it seem like every hot guy in Japan decided to come to the beach today?"

"It was probably just you." Tatsuki said, opening a box of poki from the pile of snacks they had brought into the room.

"Those two guys weren't too bad either, until you beat them up." Mahana snipped back at Tatsuki.

"They were jerks and deserved what ever it was that she did to them." Ryo said, turning a page in her ever-present book. Michiru nodded emphatically from her spot next to Ryo.

Mahana stared at her, before shrugging. "Whatever. You know, I had no idea that Kurosaki and the other guys were so well built. Heck, even Ishida and Asano aren't that bad."

Tatsuki glanced over at Orihime, who had a vague look on her face to accompany her spreading blush. Suddenly she yelped and jumped, causing all the other girls to jump.

"LOOK OUT BONTA-KUN, HE'S GOT A BANANA."

Tatsuki thought that she would probably never get used to this, and the other girls, who didn't spend as much time around Orihime, looked at her like she was crazy. After a few moments of frantic yelling and waving of hands, Orihime calmed down and looked like nothing had ever happened.

Mahana, who was the first to recover of the other three, shrugged again. "Hey, did anyone else notice those scars that Kurosaki has? Any idea where they came from?"

"Probably just from fights," Tatsuki shrugged.

"But what kind of fights? He has this one on his chest that looked like it was a really large cut."

"Maybe it was from a surgery," Tatsuki suggested.

"Nah, it wasn't neat enough for that. It was long, and looked like someone had taken a huge knife to him. And there was another one, on his chest, it was faint, but it looked like someone had punched a hole through him."

Orihime could remember that one. She'd been able to save him from death, but Ulquiorra's reiatsu had been too powerful for her to heal it without leaving a scar. She would never think that it made him look any less handsome than he already was. It was now part of who he was, an outward symbol of his determination to protect his friends and those close to him. She wished that she could say that he thought of her as more than a friend, but the truth was that even though she could sense his presence and moods more than anyone else, his thoughts were still a mystery to her. It was a mystery that she wanted to solve more than anything else, but she couldn't find her special hat, or her magnifying glass. She'd never be able to understand Kurosaki-kun if she did not have those tools. Maybe Kuchiki-san knew where they were.

Kuchiki-san. There was another mystery that she couldn't understand. It was obvious that her and Kurosaki-kun were close, but how deep were their feelings for each other? Orihime knew what Rangiku-san had said about Ichigo not being ready to decide between the two of them, but even though she could feel somewhat satisfied with the way things were, she wanted so much to know who he would choose. Once he realized that there was a need for a choice, and that she was really even an option. That was what scared her the most, to never be able to confess her feelings for him. Yet at the same time, nothing scared her as much as the thought of confessing her feelings for him.

A smile came to her face as she thought of his courage, and how, no matter what happened, he would always be an important person to her.

"Maybe," she said, her smile brightening. "He got them trying to rescue a princess, no two princesses, from an evil Shogun? And while he was fighting to save them, one of the princesses called her fairy guardians to heal his wounds, but they weren't able to find him in time to heal all his wounds, and then…"

Mahana looked at her appraisingly. "You know, you should consider becoming an author for children's books. You've got a great imagination."

"Really? You think so." Orihime considered this. She'd never really thought of it like that. Mostly people would say that she was just strange.

* * *

Orihime yawned as she leaned back from her laptop, while stretching her arms above her head before bringing them back down to rub her expanding belly. She looked at the clock. Seven after five. He should be home soon. Saving the word document that contained her latest book she pulled herself up to find something to munch on in the kitchen. She wasn't making dinner tonight. Since she was eight months pregnant, Ichigo had decided to pick something up for dinner on his way home.

While munching on a carrot and some ketchup she thought about the book that she was working on. It was turning out to be her best book yet. She decided that was because this was the first one that she had an audience for while she was writing it. One kick meant it was good, two kicks meant it wasn't good.

She had just finished her carrot when she heard the front door open and close. "I'm home," her husband's voice rang out in their apartment.

"Welcome home, honey," she said. "How was your day?"

"Better now," Ichigo said, taking her in his arms. Orihime snuggled up against her husband's muscular chest. She sighed contentedly as she thought of how lucky she was to be married to the love of her life. "What are you thinking about?" Ichigo asked her.

"I was just thinking about how lucky I am to be married to such a wonderful man." She said.

"Really? Who is he?" Orihime playfully hit Ichigo on the shoulder. She jerked when she felt a particularly strong kick from the baby. "Are you alright?" Ichigo asked her, the concern obvious in his voice.

"I'm fine, the baby kicked a little harder than normal."

Ichigo smiled, and placed the bag with the takeout that he was carrying on the table. With his hands free he scooped his wife into his arms and carried her to the couch, where he laid her down and sat by her side, his head resting against her belly. They sat like that for a moment, Orihime stroking his hair that was only a few shades brighter than her own, and Ichigo listening to the sounds of their child moving in his wife's womb.

"I'm surprised you can still lift me," Orihime joked. "I'm so heavy lately."

"Don't worry, you're not as heavy as I thought you'd be."

Orihime couldn't hold in her laughter as Ichigo instinctively shifting his legs so that they were guarding his lower area. He looked up at her after he realized what he had done and smirked. "Hey, even a powerful shinigami can be seriously injured down there."

Orihime went back to strocking his hair, wondering whether their child would inherit it's father's hair. Though if it didn't, it wasn't like it would make all that much difference if the child inherited her hair color. The funny thing was that while people looked at Ichigo's hair and thought he was a no-good punk, they looked at her hair and thought it was hot. Or at least that was what she had been told. She never really thought of herself that way.

"Orihime."

"Hmmm…?"

"I need to ask you something."

"What is it my love?"

"Truth or Dare?"

"Huh?"

* * *

"Orihime, I'm asking you if you pick 'Truth' or 'Dare'?" Tatsuki shook her friend out of her daydream.

"Oh, sorry, what were you saying, Tatsuki-chan?" Orihime shook her head clear. She had never been so disappointed to pulled out of one of her daydreams.

"Wow," Mahana commented. "You must have been really out of it. You didn't even noticed when we started to play 'Truth' or 'Dare'."

"So which one is it?" Tatsuki repeated. "Truth, or Dare?"

"Uh, Truth."

Disappointment flashed across Tatsuki's eyes so fleetingly that Orihime wondered if she had even seen it at all.

"All right then…Is there someone that you are in love with?"

Orihime's face burst out into a red she had never before reached. Even with all the times that Tatsuki had been bothering her about the bikini. Orihime knew that anything was fair game, but the thought of having to admit that she was in love with Kurosaki-kun, right here in front of everyone was more than she wanted to deal with right now. She didn't make any effort to hide the fact that she liked him, but this was completely different. Had she been her normal, cheerful self––which she was most of the time, but lately her moods had become tempered with an edge of sadness––she would have openly admitted to being in love with him.

Fortunately she was saved by a moment of inspiration, as she realized what exactly the wording of the question required.

"Yes," she mumbled, barely audible.

"Oooh, who is it? Is it one of the guys here?" Mahana said, excited.

Ryo rolled her eyes, as if it wasn't obvious enough. "She's already been asked her question. Wait till she chooses truth again to ask her."

"Aww, now she's never going to pick truth." Mahana complained.

"It's your turn to pick on someone, Orihime." Said Tatsuki.

"Okay. Michiru. Truth or Dare?"

"Dare."

"Umm…I dare you to spin around three times while barking like a dog in your loudest voice." Orihime's dare was as peculiar as could be expected from her. Nonetheless Michiru completed the dare, before sitting down and choosing the next victim.

"Ryo. Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

"Have you ever cheated on a test?"

"No. Tatsuki, Truth or Dare?"

"Dare."

An uncharacteristic grin spread across Ryo's face. "I dare you to go out there and throw water on the guys."

Tatsuki's grin mirrored Ryo's, and one would almost think that she would have done it without being dared to. Tatsuki pulled the door open, and moments later they could hear Ichigo's voice.

"Why are you filling that bowl with water?" There was a pause. "No wai….AAAARRGH! WHAT THE HECK?"

"Oh grow up, it's only water." Tatsuki came back into the room, her grin even wider than before. The other girls burst out laughing, except for Orihime who looked torn between smiling and a distressed expression. "Mahana, Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

"Umm…Have you ever seen a naked man, that wasn't from your family?"

"Yes."

"Oooh, when?"

"I'll tell you later. Orihime, Truth or Dare?"

Orihime remembered Tatsuki's question and how choosing truth would only end with her being forced to reveal her feelings for Kurosaki-kun. There was only one natural choice.

"Dare."

Mahana's grin made Orihime think that maybe she should have chosen truth instead.

"I dare you…to wear your bikini to the beach tomorrow!"

Orihime was speechless.

End Chapter 4

* * *

**(Insert Author's evil laughter.)**

**Wow, this is the longest chapter yet. About twice as long as the last one. I'm satisfied with that. I was going to include a few more scenes, with the pushy guys showing up again, among other things. But all those scenes felt forced and didn't flow well. I think this turned out to be much better.**

**So what do you think? I hope I kept everyone in character, but I do think this chapter was a bit more stretched than others.**

**I apologize for taking so long to get this chapter out, even though I had plenty of free time over the spring. I'll be honest. I'm a very lazy person, and when I have vacation time I use it to relax, which literally amounts to doing nothing. I hope that I haven't lost any readers because of this. I have been noticing though that each subsequent chapter gets fewer and few reviews, and fewer hits. From what I can tell this means that people are reading the first and possibly the second chapter, and realizing that my story sucks and giving up on it. I hope that's not the case, but that's what it looks like. I hope this chapter has been to your liking and that it is better than the previous two. Here we had the first day at the beach, and the introduction of something that just might be a plot. Watch for it in the coming chapter, but pay attention or you might miss it.**

**I realize that I haven't been replying to any of the reviews that people have left me. So I'm going to fix that right now and do that right here.**

**dark insanity 13: I'm glad you like it. I hope the story doesn't disappoint, since I'm trying to write a beach story, which doesn't really suggest any specific plot, while trying to keep things from getting cheesy.**

**Witko1: When I was thinking of plots for my first Bleach story, I wanted to do something out of the ordinary. So I figured a story about them just being teenagers would be worth a shot. To be honest, I hated the idea at first, but I hated my other ideas more. And now it's starting to grow on me and actually develop something that looks like a plot if you squint enough.**

**Story Weaver1: I think you won't be disappointed with the next chapter, when Orihime finally puts "it" on. I have fun writing Orihime. She's a character where you can throw in a little bit of angst, and then go off on a tangent that you'd think was inspired by a pot smoker, and then back to normal. As far as her sleeping with the real thing instead of the strawberry plushy, don't get your hopes up for that happening in this story.**

**Sweety8587: Sorry I had to disappoint with the door scene in the last chapter. I hope you still liked it.**

**I lyk Pie I lyk Chocolate m…: I like to try and keep the sleaze down in my stories. Mostly because I'd be too embarrassed to write it, especially if someone I actually know ended up reading it.**

**virtual-asshole: When I thought of the strawberry, I just couldn't resist. It seemed like something she would do.**

**Kage of Seireitei: I tried really hard not to make the innuendo in that part obvious. Glad you caught it.**

**Babykafka: I try hard to keep my fanfiction writing in character. I don't see much point for writing it if I do otherwise. With what's coming I'm a little worried, since I may have to deviate slightly from the character's normal behavior, to make the story work. I hope I can manage to tell the story without making any character changes though. I'm glad you like the story.**

**waiting4morning: There's not enough good Ichihime stories out there. Dialogue is one of the things I find hardest to do, but I find the extra effort is worth it. Lousy dialogue can ruin an otherwise good story.**

**Mystical-Dreamer57: Oh, he'll get a nosebleed. Just not the way you might think.**

**LuminousWeb: I'm actually surprised that you read the author's notes. Most people I know of don't. Glad you like the story, I try to do things as original as I possibly can. Though there is a limit to how original I can be while using someone else's characters. ;D**

**Just as a final note, most of the reviews I've been getting have commented about how I've been able to keep everyone in character. I'm glad that people think that, since it's what I try to focus on the most. I hope that I can keep providing in-character chapters, and if anyone notices anything that is out of character, please bring it up.**

**Also, I've noticed that I don't get very many reviews about something that people didn't like as much. Which is a good thing, if it means that people don't think there's much that isn't any good in my story. And not so good if it means that those that don't like my story think it's so worthless that they won't bother wasting their time to leave a review. But feel free to point out anything that you didn't necessarily like. Especially if you wouldn't have left a review otherwise. This is not an invitation to flame, though they do make me laugh. Unless you get too personal, then you just hurt my feelings.**

**It's funny, how I don't really ramble on like this in real life, but as soon as I type something up I can't stop. Maybe I should learn sign language, since my fingers obviously like to do more talking than my tongue does.**

**I'll see you all later, which hopefully won't take too long.**

**Here's a question though. What would you prefer? Longer chapters with a bit of a wait between updates, or shorter chapters with more frequent updates. Keep in mind that where I'm concerned frequent doesn't usually mean that much. Also, the faster I have to write a chapter, the more likely it is to be crap.**

**Oh and bonus points for anyone who can figure out where Bonta-kun is from.**

**On another note, has anyone read the most recent chapter of Bleach? I swear it's like a drug for me, a drug that I get a weekly fix of. Too bad the high wears off pretty quickly.**


	5. Bleach Omake 1

Bleach Omake #1

Bleach Omake #1

"Kurosaki-kun, could I talk with you?"

"Uh, sure…" Ichigo said, wondering what Inoue could possibly want to talk about as he stood up.

When they were in a secluded corner of the school, Inoue turned around to look at Ichigo with a determined expression on her face.

"Kurosaki-kun, I wanted to tell you that I…I lo…" she took a deep breath and continued. "I love," she gulped. "I love you…yu hakusho." Orihime was groaning on the inside.

Ichigo blinked. "Really? I like One Piece myself. YuYu Hakusho reminds me too much of my own life." He was about to turn. "Was there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Iie, that's fine…" Orihime said, her shoulders slumping as Ichigo turned around. She waited until he was out of sight before moaning. _Shimatta._

**I know, I know, it's terrible. Sorry, but right now I'm kind of stuck on the plot of the story. I need to take a little more time to work out an actual plot before I continue. I just wanted to have something to post, to let you know what's going on. Also, expect the next chapter in a week or two. I'm working on it, I just don't have anything good afterwards. At least not anything that makes sense.**

**Well, I figure I might as well show you a little bit of what to look forward to in the next chapter.**

Chapter 5 Preview

When he opened his eyes Ichigo found himself laying flat on the sand, the rest of his friends gathered around him. He sat up and rubbed his aching face. "What happened?"

Orihime looked like she was about to panic. "Sorry, Kurosaki-kun, I accidentally spiked you in the face. I'm really, really, really sorry." Her arms started waving for emphasis.

"Ah, don't worry about it Inoue."

"Yeah," Tatsuki added. "It's his own fault for not paying attention. What were you thinking anyway?"

"I…had the sun in my eyes." Ichigo muttered, averting his eyes from Tatsuki's all too knowing grin.

"Are you sure that's what was in your eyes, Kurosaki?" Everyone stared at Ishida in disbelief. "What?"

"Yeah Ichigo," Tatsuki grinned. "I think you had your eyes on the wrong ball."

**Hmmm. I wonder what was really in Ichigo's eyes. Or, which ball were his eyes on? Tell me what you think, especially the last joke. I just added that on now, does it work?**


	6. Quit Staring!

A Bleach Beach Trip Chapter 5

Author's Note: Le Gasp! An update. Guess it's been awhile hasn't it? Notices the Lynch mob standing outside his house. Aheheheh… Sorry.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, dangit.

A Bleach Beach Trip Chapter 5

For Ichigo it was a new day, in more ways than one. Since yesterday he had decided that he wasn't going to let anything keep him from enjoying his vacation. He especially wasn't going to let anyone realize just how shy he could be. That would be the biggest blow to his image since the whole shinigami mess began, and it had been taking very many blows recently. He even found himself smiling every once in a while. What was up with that? His resolve didn't even falter when he saw the new bikinis Tatsuki and Mahana were wearing. Then Orihime took off the T-shirt she was wearing over her swimsuit and he knew he was a lost cause.

He knew he was staring, but the part of his brain that was supposed to care was too busy celebrating along with the perverted part of his brain. He happened to glance to his side and noticed Keigo staring at Orihime with a bugeyed, slackjawed expression that Ichigo hoped didn't mirror his own. He smacked Keigo in the back of the head with less spirit than usual, and muttered, "Quit staring." He then decided to go for a swim.

* * *

Everyone decided to play volley ball again. During the entire game Ichigo dropped the ball more than once because he was paying attention to Orihime more than he was to the actual game. Then the fateful moment, both Ichigo and Orihime were at the net, right in front of each other. Orihime was looking everywhere except for at Ichigo. Ichigo tried to focus on the game, rather than be caught staring at Orihime by any of the others, or worse by Orihime herself. The ball moved in slow motion, Tatsuki set Orihime up for a spike, and Orihime jumped to spike the ball. Ichigo jumped to intercept the ball, but because he jumped slightly after Orihime he found his face level with her chest. His eyes were automatically drawn, and he forgot how to breathe.

When he opened his eyes Ichigo found himself laying flat on the sand, the rest of his friends gathered around him. He sat up and rubbed his aching face. "What happened?"

Orihime looked like she was about to panic. "Sorry, Kurosaki-kun, I accidentally spiked you in the face. I'm really, really, really sorry." Her arms started waving for emphasis.

"Ah, don't worry about it Inoue."

"Yeah," Tatsuki added. "It's his own fault for not paying attention. What were you thinking anyway?"

"I…had the sun in my eyes." Ichigo muttered, averting his eyes from Tatsuki's all too knowing grin.

"Are you sure that's what was in your eyes, Kurosaki?" Everyone stared at Ishida in disbelief. "What?"

"Yeah Ichigo," Tatsuki grinned. "I think you had your eyes on the wrong ball."

"Shut up," Ichigo muttered, and tried to stand up. He grimaced when a sharp pain shot through his ankle. The pain wasn't very severe, but he hadn't noticed it before and hadn't been expecting it.

Since his expression from the pain didn't look all that different from his normal expression, nobody else noticed the slight difference, except for Orihime, whose feminine instinct left somewhat to be desired at times, but her 'Kurosaki-kun' instinct was second to none.

"Kurosaki-kun, is your leg alright?" She asked him, and everyone else noticed how he wasn't putting any pressure on his right leg.

"I'm fine," he lied. "Don't worry about it."

But as he started walking, he was betrayed by a slight limp.

"You should probably lay down and take the weight off that foot. It looks like you might have sprained your ankle when you landed." Uryu regarded Ichigo's foot with a clinical expression.

"I'm fine," Ichigo protested. "Now do we still want to play or what?"

Tatsuki's grin had faded slightly, but she tried not to let her face betray any emotion. She shook her head, an ironic grin on her face at Ichigo's stubbornness.

"You should listen to him Ichigo," she suggested. "His dad is a doctor so he probably knows what he's talking about."

"So is my dad, and I'm telling you I'm fine."

"I'm sorry…"

Everyone's attention switched to Orihime, whose voice was very small and quiet. When she looked up Ichigo flinched at the unshed tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Kurosaki-kun. It's my fault that you got hurt. If I hadn't hit you in the face…"

"Ah, no…It's alright Inoue, it really doesn't hurt…"

Orihime just shook her head and tried to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"At least let us take you back where Inoue-san can heal your ankle without anyone else noticing." Uryu whispered to Ichigo.

Ichigo nodded, not wanting to be the cause of further tears from his normally cheerful friend. Chad helped Uryu support Ichigo back towards the cabin.

"Inoue-san, could you come help us please?" Uryu asked Orihime. The bright haired girl looked up, and nodded, following after the three boys.

* * *

Tatsuki watched as Ichigo, supported by Chad and Ishida, left for the house, followed by Orihime. She sighed. That didn't quite go as she'd hoped. Oh well.

"You know, I feel kind of bad now," Mahana said.

"Yeah," Tatsuki agreed. Then she grinned. "He'll be fine though, he's tougher than that." Her grin switched to a smirk. "Did you see? He was totally staring."

Mahan mirrored Tatsuki's grin. "How couldn't he? They were right in his face."

"Poor Orihime, she probably doesn't even realize what happened."

Keigo and Mizuiro, who the girls had apparently forgotten about, stood looking at the girls confused. "Do you have any idea what they are talking about?" Keigo asked his shorter friend.

Mizuiro shrugged. "I have no idea."

Keigo was about to ask the girls what they were talking about, when he noticed something further down the beach. "Hey, isn't that…?"

* * *

They got back to the cabin and helped Ichigo lie down on his bed. Orihime immediately called her shun shun rikka and shortly later Ichigo's ankle was healed.

"Thank you Inoue," Ichigo said, getting out of the bed.

"It might be better if you stay here actually," Uryu suggested. "It would be strange if you were to be instantly healed so soon. Better wait here until the evening, then you can tell everyone that it wasn't as bad as we thought."

"Whatever," Ichigo said, lying back down on the bed. He closed his eyes and started to take a nap.

The other three left the room and went out to the living room. Uryu and Chad went to the door, Uryu pausing with the door open.

"Are you coming, Inoue-san?"

"Iie, I'll stay here."

Uryu shrugged and left, shutting the door.

When the other two boys had left Orihime suddenly realized that she was all alone in the cabin with Ichigo. She started to panic, not knowing what to do, when she remembered that he was taking a nap. She looked into the boys room, to find him sleeping deeply. She felt her face heat up as she watched him sleeping, half naked. Remembering what she was wearing she ran back into the girls room to put on a t-shirt.

_I knew wearing this was a bad idea._

* * *

Ichigo woke up much later in the day. When he looked at the clock he realized that he'd been asleep for several hours. He sat up, trying to stretch the grogginess out of his body. He hadn't slept very well the last night, because he kept waking up from very bizarre dreams. They usually featured him and one or several girls in various revealing swimsuits. More often than not it was girls he knew from school, and more often that it was Inoue. It disturbed him to be thinking of a close friend like that, even one as beautiful as Inoue.

Ichigo froze. He shook his head, trying to clear his head. It wasn't right, he shouldn't be thinking of friends like that. Obviously Inoue was a beautiful person, in more ways than one, but it wasn't right for him to be thinking of her the way she was appearing in his dreams.

It had been very quiet since Aizen's defeat. Even regular Hollows were a rare occurrence, their numbers having been drastically reduced in the fighting. Since then Ichigo had gotten back into his regular routine that he'd had before Rukia had shown up in his life. The problem was that he was having trouble adjusting to a life where fighting wasn't a normal occurrence. He found that without having to worry about life or death situations, his mind was starting to different things. Normal things, like school, friends, and girls. In other words, his teenage hormones were starting to make their stand after having been ignored for so long. Ichigo didn't like it. He had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do with his hormones rebelling against him. He'd rather fight Ulquiorra again.

Realizing that he was hungry Ichigo decided to get something to drink from the kitchen. When he got to the kitchen he saw Orihime working on some kind of snack. Using the word lightly of course. He noticed that she had put on a shirt over her bikini and sighed in relief. It wasn't that he didn't like seeing her in a bikini, the problem was that he found himself liking it too much.

Orihime heard his sigh and turned around to face him.

"Ah, Kurosaki-kun, you shouldn't be walking around yet."

"Don't worry, I'm not actually hurt, remember?" Ichigo said, smiling at Orihime. "What are you making?"

Orihime smiled at him, and picked up the plate she had been working on.

"I was making you a snack."

Ichigo felt his face pale, even though what was on the plate looked relatively normal. Now he just had to figure out what exactly it was.

"But for some reason I can't find the octopus, or the chocolate sauce."

Ichigo tried to hide a smirk. He knew hiding those had been a good idea.

"But I was able to make you rice and red bean paste cakes."

Oh well, he'd live with the small victories he could get.

Accepting the plate from Orihime, Ichigo sat down on the couch. It wasn't that bad, but it wasn't normal either. Still, it was a taste he could live with.

He noticed that Orihime was still standing, looking nervous.

"You can sit down if you want," he offered. She nodded and sat down on the couch.

Almost immediately she fell asleep as soon as she hit the couch. She slid down sideways so that her head ended up on Ichigo's lap.

He froze again.

In that short moment Orihime's arms found their way around his waist and pulled tight. He could tell that she wasn't going to be letting go any time soon.

Ichigo's face flushed deeper than it had ever in his life. How exactly had this happened? What frightened him was that he was finding himself enjoying it. He groaned to himself. Inoue was a friend, he had no right to be thinking about how good the weight of her head in his lap felt, or how silky and smooth her hair felt against his naked torso, or how he felt like he never wanted her arms to leave his waist.

"Kurosaki-kun…"

Ichigo blanched. She wasn't awake was she? No. She was just speaking in her sleep. Come to think of it, he had to get out of her arms before she woke up. He wasn't sure how she would react, but he knew that she would be incredibly embarrassed. He tried moving her arms, but found that she had a stronger grip than he expected. After several moments of trying he found that there was no way he was going to loosen her grip on him without waking her up.

"Yo, Ichigo!" The exclamation accompanied the outside door swinging open.

_No, not them._ Ichigo groaned, recognizing the voice.

End Chapter 5

* * *

A/N: I apologize for the lateness and the suckiness of this chapter. I've been really busy with classes, one of which is a creative writing class. Right now I'm having to completely start from scratch on what happens after this. I have a basic idea, but I need to rework the direction that I'm taking this in. The lack of an actual plot is a strong motivator in this decision, and a lot of the stuff that I wanted to do won't actually work. I had to cut several scenes from this chapter alone since they just weren't working. I'm thinking I can squeeze a few more chapters out, I already have an idea, but need to get things right for it.

If anyone notices some errors please tell me, I have yet to proof read it completely.


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